Bonding of thermal tile insulation

ABSTRACT

An insulative body having first and second porous insulation members and a ceramic binder. Each of the first and second porous insulation members is formed of a fibrous, low-density silica-based material and cooperatively defines a joint. The ceramic binder is disposed between a pair of mating surfaces that form the joint. The ceramic binder couples the first and second porous insulation members together.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional application of U.S. application Ser.No. 09/676,682, filed Sep. 29, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,494,979.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to thermal insulation tiles andmore particularly to a method for bonding thermal insulation tiles.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Thermal insulation tiles, such as those used to insulate the spaceshuttle orbiter, are typically formed from low-density fibrous materialshaving extremely high temperature resistance and a relatively lowcoefficient of thermal expansion as compared to metals. These materialsare well known in the art and include, for example, FRCI (fibrousrefractory composite insulation) and AETB (alumina enhanced thermalbarrier) materials.

In fabricating the tiles, fibers of an insulating material, such assilica, alumina boro-silicate and alumina, are mixed with water to forma slurry. The slurry is deposited into a casting tower where the wateris drained and the silica fibers are subjected to compressive forces toform a raw block of insulation material having a cross-sectional areathat may range from 144 square inches to almost 576 square inchesdepending upon the dimensions of the casting tower. The raw block isthen dried in an oven and subsequently fired (sintered) to bond thefibers of the insulating material together. Thereafter, tiles are formedfrom the fired block through conventional machining processes whereintiles of a desired shape are cut from the solid block.

One drawback associated with this process is the maximum size of thetiles that can be formed. As the surface of the space shuttle orbiter,for example, is relatively large, it is highly desirable to form thetile as large as possible so as to reduce the labor that is required toaffix the tiles to the orbiter, as well as minimize the use of thematerial which bonds the tiles to the orbiter to thereby minimize theweight of the orbiter's thermal protection system. In covering a leadingor trailing edge of a craft, a tile having a length in excess of 6 feetis highly desirable.

To some extent, the size of the tiles may be increased by enlarging thesize of the casting tower. In practice, however, casting towers thatproduce raw blocks having dimensions greater than 22″×22″×7″ inches arenot practical due to the increased rate at which defects and otherproblems are encountered in the manufacturing process. Problems such asweight associated with transporting a large block filled with water, theinability to completely dry very large raw blocks, overheating theexterior portion of the raw block during the firing operation and underheating the interior portion of the raw block during the firingoperation frequently lead to defects such as shrinking, cracking andimproper bonding of the fibers. As the material that is used to form theraw blocks is relatively expensive, the increased rate of defectsrenders the formation of relatively large fired blocks commerciallyimpracticable.

Another drawback associated with the previously known methods of formingtiles concerns the manner in which tiles having a complex shape areformed. Tiles which are relatively flat and sized approximately equal tothe cross-section of the fired block are relatively easy to machine withlittle waste. Tiles having a complex shape, however, are routinelycarved from a fired block, with the remainder of the fired block beingdiscarded as scrap. As mentioned above, the material that is used toform the raw blocks is relatively expensive. Consequently, tiles thatare produced in a process wherein large amounts of the fired blocks arescrapped are extremely costly to produce.

Accordingly, there remains a need in the art for a method for formingrelatively large insulation tiles. There also remains a need in the artfor a method for forming a complex shaped insulation tile which producesrelatively less scrap. There also remains a need in the art for a methodfor bonding insulation tiles together.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one preferred form, the present invention provides an insulative bodyhaving first and second porous insulation members and a binder. Each ofthe first and second porous insulation members is formed of a fibrous,low-density silica-based material and cooperatively defines a joint. Thebinder is disposed between a pair of mating surfaces that form thejoint. The binder couples the first and second porous insulation memberstogether.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Additional advantages and features of the present invention will becomeapparent from the subsequent description and the appended claims, takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an insulative body formed in accordancewith the teachings of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of the method of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation view illustrating an alternate jointconstruction;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of another insulative body formed inaccordance with the teachings of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a side elevation view of the leading edge of a craft formedfrom insulative materials in accordance with the teachings of thepresent invention; and

FIG. 6 is a side elevation view of a leading edge of a craft formed inaccordance with the prior art.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, an insulating bodyconstructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention isgenerally indicated by reference numeral 10. Insulating body 10 is shownto include first and second tile members 14 and 16, respectively, and aceramic/organic thermal setting binder 20. First and second tile members14 and 16 are extremely porous, being constructed from a fibrous,low-density silica-based material. First and second tile members 14 and16 are preferably formed from a homogeneous alumina enhanced thermalbarrier (AETB) material which is well known in the art and more fullydescribed in Leiser et al., “Options for Improving Rigidized CeramicHeatshields”, Ceramic Engineering and Science Proceedings, 6, No. 7-8,pp. 757-768 (1985) and Leiser et al., “Effect of Fiber Size andComposition on Mechanical and Thermal Properties of Low Density CeramicComposite Insulation Materials”, NASA CP 2357, pp. 231-244 (1984). Asthose skilled in the art will understand, however, first and second tilemembers 14 and 16 may be formed from other fibrous low-densitysilica-based materials including, for example, fibrous refractorycomposite insulation (FRCI), which is well known in the art and morefully described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,148,962, the disclosure of which ishereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.

As best shown in FIG. 2, the ceramic/organic thermal setting binder 20includes a ceramic binder 22 and a thermal set organic binder 24. Theceramic binder 22 may be glass, such as Ferro Corporation's EG0002,EG1001 and EG2790 electronic glasses, or ceramic, such as an aluminumoxide and silica mixture, and is selected on the basis of itscoefficient of thermal expansion. Preferably, the coefficient of thermalexpansion of the ceramic binder 22 is about equal to the coefficient ofthermal expansion of the first and second tile members 14 and 16.

The thermal set organic binder 24 is an agent that aids in theprocessing of insulating body 10. In this regard, the thermal setorganic binder 24 is an agent that is employed to temporarily bond thefirst and second tile members 14 and 16 to one another. Additionally,the thermal set organic binder 24 is an agent that assists in thedistribution of the ceramic binder 22 as will be discussed in greaterdetail, below. Examples of suitable thermal set organic binders 24include epoxies and acrylics.

The thermal set organic binder 24 and ceramic binder 22 are combined andpreferably thinned out (i.e., the thermal set organic binder 24 is atleast partially dissolved) to a desired viscosity with a suitablesolvent 26. The ceramic/organic thermal setting binder 20 is thenapplied to the pair of mating surfaces 30 that form the joint 32 betweenthe first and second tile members 14 and 16. In applying theceramic/organic thermal setting binder 20 to the joint 32, it is highlydesirable that the mating surfaces 30 are sufficiently wetted out so asto create a high quality bond. It is also desirable that theceramic/organic thermal setting binder 20 not significantly wick intothe porous and fibrous tile members 14 and 16 as relatively thinnerbonds are more desirable (thinner bonds are lighter and less likely toaffect the thermal and mechanical properties of the finished insulatingbody 10 as compared to relatively thicker bonds).

Once a desired amount of the ceramic/organic thermal setting binder 20has been applied to the mating surfaces 30, the mating surfaces 30 areplaced in contact with one another, the thermal set organic binder 24bonds the first and second tile members 14 and 16 together and a tileassembly is formed. Measures may be taken to ensure that the matingsurfaces 30 will remain in constant and continuous contact with oneanother during the subsequent processing step. Such measures are wellknown in the art and are typically employed in the fabrication of epoxycomposites. One such measure is the use of a vacuum bag wherein thefirst and second tile members 14 and 16 are placed in a vacuum bag, thevacuum bag is coupled to a vacuum source (e.g., a vacuum pump) and airis evacuated from the vacuum bag to permit the atmosphere to exertpressure onto the joint 32 to maintain the mating surfaces 30 inconstant and continuous contact with one another. Other measures includethe use of an adhesive tape or the application of a small weight acrossthe length and width of the joint, so as to exert a force onto the jointwhich maintains the mating surfaces 30 in constant and continuouscontact with one another.

The tile assembly is next placed into an oven and slowly heated. As thetemperature of the thermal set organic binder 24 increases, itsviscosity lowers, permitting it to flow into through the joint 32 andinto any open pores in the first and second tile members 14 and 16. Asthe thermal set organic binder 24 is mixed with the ceramic binder 22,the flowing action of the thermal set organic binder 24 assists in thedistribution of the ceramic binder 22 by carrying the ceramic binder 22through the joint 32 and into the open pores. Depending upon theparticular type of thermal set organic binder 24 that is used, thethermal set organic binder 24 will set up at about 200-500° F., therebyfixing the position of the particles of the ceramic binder 22 that aredistributed throughout the joint 32 and temporarily bonding the firstand second tile members 14 and 16 to one another. The tile assembly maythen be removed from the oven to permit any vacuum bags, weights, tape,etc. to be removed. Thereafter, the tile assembly is placed in a furnacewhere it is slowly heated to a temperature of about 800° F. to about1000° F. and held within this temperature range for an appropriate timesuch as one hour, for example, to permit the thermal set organic binder24 to burn-out of the joint 32 so as not to affect the weight, strength,thermal properties or coefficient of thermal expansion of the joint 32.Thereafter, the tile assembly is slowly heated to a temperature fromabout 1200° F. to about 2400° F. to permit the ceramic binder 22 to fusethe into the first and second tile members 14 and 16 and fixedly couplethe mating surfaces 30 to one another.

Preferably, a surface hardening agent 40 is applied to the matingsurfaces 30 of the joint 32 and cured prior to the application of theceramic/organic thermal setting binder 20. Examples of suitable surfacehardening agents 40 include silica sol and alumina sol. The curedsurface hardening agent 40 is operable for partially filling the voidsin the mating surfaces 30 to thereby limit the ability of theceramic/organic thermal setting binder 20 to wick into the first andsecond tile members 14 and 16. If silica sol is employed as the surfacehardening agent 40, it preferably includes small silica particles in thesize range of from about 4 nanometers to about 150 nanometers. Thesilica particles are mixed with a carrier liquid, such as water with asmall amount of ammonia such that the silica particles are present in anamount of from about 15 parts by weight to about 50 parts by weight ofthe mixture of silica and liquid, producing a mixture having theconsistency of water. One operable silica sol of this type iscommercially available as Nalco 2327 manufactured by Nalco ChemicalCompany. Curing is accomplished by heating the first and second tilemembers 14 and 16 to an elevated temperature, such as 300° F. until theliquid carrier has completely evaporated. If desired, a pore-obstructingmaterial 41, such as cordierite or mullite, may be applied to the matingsurfaces 30 of the joint 32 prior to the application of the surfacehardening agent 40 to limit the depth with which the surface hardeningagent 40 is permitted to penetrate.

Also preferably, the first and second tile members 14 and 16 are formedwith mitered end portions 50 so that the mating surfaces 30 are angledwith respect to the exterior surfaces 60 of the first and second tilemembers 14 and 16. Construction of insulating body 10 in this mannerincreases the surface area of joint 32 as compared to a conventionalbutt joint 32 as illustrated in FIG. 3, to thereby increase the strengthof insulating body 10 in the area of the joint 32. Also advantageously,the angling of the mating surfaces 30 relative to the exterior surfaces60 permits any adverse effects of the ceramic/organic thermal settingbinder 20 to be distributed over a path that is skewed to the directionthrough which thermal energy is transmitted through insulating body 10.

The following non-limiting examples describe the invention further andrepresent best modes for practicing the invention.

EXAMPLE I

Tile members 14 and 16 are formed from AETB with mitered end portions50. A silica sol having silica particles that are mixed with a carrierliquid, such as Nalco 2327 which is commercially available from NalcoChemical Company and 27 percent by weight of cordierite powder fromFerro Corporation, is applied to the mating surfaces 30 that are formedinto the mitered end portions 50 of the tile members 14 and 16. The tilemembers 14 and 16 are dried at about 300° F. for about 30 minutes toharden the mating surfaces 30 and to substantially reduce the porosityof the mating surfaces. An ceramic/organic thermal setting binder 20consisting of about 90 percent by weight of a ceramic binder 22 andabout 10 percent by weight of a thermal set organic binder 24, such asan acrylic is provided. In the particular example provided, the ceramicbinder 22 has a composition of about 0 percent by weight to about 90percent by weight of aluminum oxide and 100 percent by weight to about10 percent by weight of silica and preferably about 83.3 percent byweight of aluminum oxide and about 16.6 percent by weight of silica. Theceramic/organic thermal setting binder 20 is mixed with an acetonesolvent to form a liquid having the consistency of milk. One or morecoats of the ceramic/organic thermal setting binder 20 are applied toeach of the mating surfaces 30 and the mating surfaces 30 are placed incontact with one another. The tile assembly is placed in a vacuum bagand a source of vacuum is applied to the vacuum bag to remove the airtherefrom. The tile assembly is heated slowly in an oven to first 180°F. then to about 350° F. to cause the acrylic to temporarily bond thetile members 14 and 16 to one another. The tile assembly is removed fromthe oven, the vacuum bag is removed from the tile assembly and the tileassembly is thereafter heated slowly in a furnace such that thetransition between approximately 800° F. to approximately 1000° F. ismade in about one hour to permit the acrylic to burn out of the joint32. The tile assembly is thereafter fired in the furnace at atemperature of about 1200° F. to about 2400° F., and preferably at about2000° F., to fuse the ceramic binder (22) to the mating surfaces andfixedly couple the tile members 14 and 16 together.

EXAMPLE II

Tile members 14 and 16 are formed from AETB with mitered end portions50. An ceramic/organic thermal setting binder 20 consisting of about 95percent by weight of a ceramic binder 22, such as Ferro Corporationelectronic glass EG0002, EG1001 or EG2790, and about 5 percent by weightof a thermal set organic binder 24, such as ethocellulose, is mixed witha butyl carbitol acetate solvent to form a paste that is somewhat wetterthan commercially available tomato paste. A first coat of theceramic/organic thermal setting binder 20 is applied to each of themating surfaces 30 and permitted to slightly wick into the tile members14 and 16. A second coat of the ceramic/organic thermal setting binder20 is thereafter applied to the mating surfaces 30 and the matingsurfaces 30 are placed in contact with one another. A small weight isapplied to the assembly to ensure that the mating surfaces 30 remain inconstant contact during the subsequent step. The tile assembly is thenheated slowly to about 350° F. to set the ethocellulose and temporarilybond the tile members 14 and 16 to one another. The weight is thereafterremoved and the tile assembly is heated slowly in a furnace such thatthe transition between approximately 800° F. to approximately 1000° F.is made in about one hour to permit the ethocellulose to burn out of thejoint 32. The tile assembly is thereafter fired in the furnace at atemperature of about 2000° F. to about 2400° F. to fuse the electronicglass to the mating surfaces and fixedly couple the tile members 14 and16 together.

EXAMPLE III

Tile members 14 and 16 are formed from FRCI with mitered end portions50. A silica sol having silica particles that are mixed with a carrierliquid, such as Nalco 2327 which is commercially available from NalcoChemical Company, is applied to the mating surfaces 30 that are formedinto the mitered end portions 50 of the tile members 14 and 16. The tilemembers 14 and 16 are dried at about 300° F. for about 30 minutes toharden the mating surfaces 30 and to substantially reduce the porosityof the mating surfaces. An ceramic/organic thermal setting binder 20consisting of about 90 percent by weight of a ceramic binder 22, such asFerro Corporation electronic glass EG0002, EG1001 or EG2790, and about10 percent by weight of a thermal set organic binder 24, such as epoxy,is mixed with an acetone solvent to form a liquid having the consistencyof milk. One or more coats of the ceramic/organic thermal setting binder20 are applied to each of the mating surfaces 30 and the mating surfaces30 are placed in contact with one another. The tile assembly is placedin a vacuum bag and a source of vacuum is applied to the vacuum bag toremove the air therefrom. The tile assembly is heated slowly in an ovento about 350° F. to cause the epoxy to temporarily bond the tile members14 and 16 to one another. The tile assembly is removed from the oven,the vacuum bag is removed from the tile assembly and the tile assemblyis thereafter heated slowly in a furnace such that the transitionbetween approximately 800° F. to approximately 1000° F. is made in aboutone hour to permit the epoxy to burn out of the joint 32. The tileassembly is thereafter fired in the furnace at a temperature of about2000° F. to about 2400° F. to fuse the electronic glass to the matingsurfaces and fixedly couple the tile members 14 and 16 together.

EXAMPLE IV

Tile members 14 and 16 are formed from AETB with mitered end portions50. A ceramic organic setting binder 20, such as Nippon ElectronicCorporation electronic glass GA-13 is mixed with a butyl carbitolacetate solvent to form a paste that is somewhat wetter thancommercially available tomato paste. A coat of the ceramic organicsetting binder 20 is applied to each of the mating surfaces 30 andpermitted to slightly wick into the tile members 14 and 16. A smallweight is applied to the assembly to ensure that the mating surfaces 30remain in constant contact during the subsequent step. The tile assemblyis then heated slowly to about 200° F. to about 400° F. to evaporate thesolvent and temporarily bond the tile members 14 and 16 to one another.The weight is thereafter removed and the tile assembly by heated slowlyin a furnace such that the transition between approximately 800° F. toapproximately 1000° F. is made in about one hour to permit the thermalset organic binder 24 to burn out of the joint 32. The tile assembly isthereafter fired in the furnace at a temperature of about 1300° F. toabout 1800° F. to fuse the electronic glass to the mating surfaces 30and fixedly couple the tile members 14 and 16 together.

While the insulating body 10 has been illustrated thus far as being aplanar insulative tile formed from several substantially planar tilemembers, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention, inits broader aspects, may be constructed somewhat differently. Forexample, insulating body 10′ may be formed from a plurality of firedblocks 70 of porous, fibrous, low-density silica-based material asillustrated in FIG. 4. In this arrangement, raw blocks formed in acasting tower are dried and fired in a furnace to produce fired blocks70 in a process that is well known in the art. The fired blocks 70 arethereafter bonded together with a ceramic/organic thermal setting binder20 of the type and in the manner disclosed above to produce a blockassembly. The block assembly may thereafter be machined as desired. Thebonding of fired blocks 70 is advantageous in that it substantiallyreduces the processing time associated with the preparation of themating surfaces 30, the application of the ceramic/organic thermalsetting binder 20, the curing of the thermal set organic binder 24 andthe subsequent firing to set the ceramic binder 22.

Another arrangement is illustrated in FIG. 5 wherein a pair of tilemembers 14″ and 16″ are coupled to one another to form the leading edge80 of a craft. Construction of the leading edge 80 from a plurality ofplanar tile members as illustrated in FIG. 5, as opposed to the priorart method of carving the leading edge 80 a from a monolithic block 84as illustrated in FIG. 6, is both extremely efficient and less costlydue to a substantial reduction in the amount of waste that is generatedto machine the leading edge 80.

While the invention has been described in the specification andillustrated in the drawings with reference to a preferred embodiment, itwill be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes maybe made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention as defined in the claims. Inaddition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situationor material to the teachings of the invention without departing from theessential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the inventionnot be limited to the particular embodiment illustrated by the drawingsand described in the specification as the best mode presentlycontemplated for carrying out this invention, but that the inventionwill include any embodiments falling within the foregoing descriptionand the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An insulative body comprising: first and secondporous insulation members, each of the first and second porousinsulation members being formed of a fibrous, low-density silica-basedmaterial, the first and second porous insulation members cooperativelydefining a joint; and a ceramic binder selected from a group of bindersconsisting of glass and ceramic, the binder being disposed between apair of mating surfaces that form the joint, the binder coupling thefirst and second porous insulation members together.
 2. The insulativebody of claim 1, wherein the ceramic binder has a coefficient of thermalexpansion that is about equal to a coefficient of thermal expansion ofthe first and second porous insulation members.
 3. The insulative bodyof claim 1, wherein each of the first and second porous insulationmembers includes a mitered end portion.
 4. The insulative body of claim1, wherein the ceramic binder includes aluminum oxide and silica.
 5. Aninsulative body comprising: first and second porous insulation members,each of the first and second porous insulation members being formed of afibrous, low-density silica-based material, the first and second porousinsulation members cooperatively defining a joint; and anceramic/organic thermal setting binder having a thermal set organicbinder and a ceramic binder selected from a group of binders consistingof glass and ceramic, the ceramic/organic thermal setting binder beingdisposed between a pair of mating surfaces that form the joint; whereinthe thermal set organic binder initially adhesively couples the firstand second porous insulation members together and thereafter isburned-out of the joint when the insulating body is fired to permit theceramic binder to fuse into and fixedly couple the first and secondporous insulation members together.
 6. The insulative body of claim 5,wherein the thermal set organic binder is selected from a group ofthermal set organic binders consisting of epoxies and acrylics.
 7. Theinsulative body of claim 6, wherein the thermal set organic binderincludes ethocellulose.
 8. The insulative body of claim 5, wherein theorganic thermal setting binder further includes a solvent for at leastpartially dissolving the organic binder.
 9. The insulative body of claim5, wherein the ceramic binder has a coefficient of thermal expansionthat is about equal to a coefficient of thermal expansion of the firstand second porous insulation members.
 10. The insulative body of claim5, wherein each of the first and second porous insulation membersincludes a mitered end portion.
 11. The insulative body of claim 5,wherein the ceramic binder includes aluminum oxide and silica.
 12. Aninsulative tile comprising: a first tile member formed of a fibrous,low-density silica-based material, the first tile member defining afirst mating surface; a second tile member formed of the fibrous,low-density silica-based material, the second tile member defining asecond mating surface; and a ceramic/organic binder applied onto atleast one of the first and second mating surfaces such that theceramic/organic binder is juxtaposed between the first and second matingsurfaces, the ceramic/organic binder including an organic thermalsetting binder and a ceramic binder consisting of glass and ceramic;wherein at least a portion of the insulative tile has been subjected toan elevated temperature that cures the organic thermal setting binder tothereby fix the first and second mating surfaces to one another.
 13. Theinsulative tile of claim 12, wherein the fibrous, low-densitysilica-based material is selected from a group consisting of fibrousrefractory composite insulation, alumina enhanced thermal barrier andcombinations thereof.
 14. The insulative tile of claim 12, wherein theceramic binder has a coefficient of thermal expansion that is aboutequal to a coefficient of thermal expansion of the first and second tilemembers.
 15. The insulative tile of claim 12, wherein the thermal setorganic binder is selected from a group of thermal set organic bindersconsisting of epoxies and acrylics.
 16. The insulative tile of claim 12,wherein the pore-obstructing material is selected from a group ofpore-obstructing materials consisting of cordierite and mullite.
 17. Theinsultative tile of claim 12, wherein the ceramic binder includesaluminum oxide and silica.